BBC Asian Network is a national digital radio station providing speech and music appealing anyone interested in British Asian lifestyles. The station broadcasts the best in Bollywood and Bhangra music as well as R'n'B & Hip Hop and British Asian Underground. Asian Network also broadcasts news, discussion programmes, documentaries and reflects British Asian arts and culture.

What is the remit of BBC Asian Network?

The BBC Asian Network's remit covers news, music and events from UK Asian communities and South Asia diaspora (including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh). This does not include locations in South East Asia. It broadcasts primarily in English, but some programming is provided in a range of South Asian languages. The primary target audience is British Asians under 35 (reflecting the age profile of the Asian communities), but the station should also appeal to anyone with an interest in British Asian issues, music and culture.

2011 - After a year of uncertainty, the Asian Network was reprieved as national radio station, largely due to its improving audience figures which went up to around half a million people each week. However, like other areas of the BBC, it faces significant cuts to its budget. Final plans for the Asian Network are now subject to a consultation process by the BBC Trust.

2010 - It was announced that Asian Network would close as a national station and be replaced by five regional services in London, Birmingham, Leicester, Manchester and Leeds/Bradfotrd. The audience had declined and the station was thus costing too much per hour compared with other networks. However over the 12 months after the closure announcement, the audience figures recovered significantly under a revised strategy which described output as ' a friend of the family'.

2006 - The BBC announced that they were investing an extra &pound;1m in the BBC Asian Network and placing it under the controller of BBC Radio Five Live. Considerable schedule changes were introuced the following year.

2002 - Launched as a national BBC digital network on DAB on 28th October with programming originating from London, Leicester and Birmingham.

2000-2002 - Focus of station shifts from serving the Midland Asian population to the UK as a national service for all Asian communities. Director General of the BBC, Greg Dyke moves Asian Network from Nations and Regions to Radio and Music. The station establishes its own website and is made available on the internet and cable services.

1996-2000 - Asian Network expands including gaining access to LR medium wave in the North, Derbyshire, Bedfordshire, and Hertfordshire. Crucially it gains space on the Sky satellite and in 1998 establishes its own newsroom (with reporters in London, Leeds, Manchester and the Midlands).

1996 - Asian Network is established as a 24 hour regional station.

1994-1996 - Asian Network on WM and Leicester now broadcasts 7 days per week from afternoon till midnight.

1993 - Leicester and WM frequencies are successfully retained.

1991 - Govt. lifts ban on splitting temporarily to allow expansion of Asian Network programmes carrying World Service bulletins during Gulf War. Proposal for a national federal Asian Network using key LR medium wave frequencies in all major centre of Asian population (July). This ambition not realised as BBC agrees to yield key London and Manchester medium wave frequency 1458 kHz to Radio Authority. Major regional public campaign in Midlands to retain Leicester and WM frequencies led by Local Radio Advisory Councils. DG Michael Check land refuses to yield the frequencies in a terse note to the Radio Authority. Wrangling lasted for two years.

1989 - World Service bulletins in Hindi, Urdu, and Bengali broadcast for the first time on Radio Leicester (17th October) and BAPS syndication of World Service programming for all LR stations established. 30th October Asian Network launched on WM and Radio Leicester with a combined output of 70 hours per week Asian Network programmes also taken by BBC CWR on launch of that station. First threat to Asian Network when Govt. decides that simulcasting must end. LR medium wave frequencies had to be yielded to the Radio Authority for commercial radio expansion. Ban imposed on further splitting of frequencies thwarts Asian Network ambitions to expand programming

1988 - First plans for shared Asian programmes across the Midlands on Radios Leicester and WM named "The Asian Network"

1983/4 - BBC Radio WM follows Leicester lead and strips Asian programmes across the week. Both stations achieve substantial audiences.

1977 - BBC Radio Leicester strips Asian programmes across the week 'The 6 o'clock show' revolutionising Asian programming on the BBC which had hitherto been single programmes on LR and on Radio 4. Audience research shows massive take-up of the programme with 67% reach of Leicester Asian community.

To submit your music for Playlist, please post your CD to the 'Head of Music' or email as an mp3 (minimum 192 kbps) format to Asian Network Playlist.

To submit your music to a specific DJ or show then please send it to the producer of the show that you want to get your music on. If you don't know who the producer is, mark your envelope for the "Producer of Show X". Alternatively you can email your mp3 to the show. Details are listed on each showpage.

BBC Asian Network is committed to supporting new Asian artists and we have a weekly feature called 'Friction Introducing'. This is where we support unsigned, undiscovered and under the radar music as part of BBC Introducing.

If you are a new band, singer/songwriter or bedroom producer and think your music deserves to be heard by more people then we want to hear from you.. To submit your music for Friction Introducing, please post your CD to 'Friction Introducing' at the address above or email as a WAV file or mp3 (minimum 192 kbps) format to: friction@bbc.co.uk

By submitting your music to us through the BBC Introducing Uploader, you are giving yourself the chance of getting played out on BBC Asian Network, across other BBC Radio stations, and maybe even playing at one of the BBC Asian Network or BBC Introducing stages.

Unfortunately we do not offer tours of Asian Network. However, you can visit certain areas of the BBC through BBC Tours.

From BBC Birmingham's Public Space visitors can look into the BBC Asian Network radio studio. There is a shop and interactive areas giving people the chance to read and record a TV news item, weather report or do some football commentary! Open everyday and free to visit. More at BBC Birmingham website.

BBC Birmingham also offers the chance to take a tour of the state-of-the-art studios situated in The Mailbox. Take a peek behind the scenes of stations such as BBC Asian Network. And take part in a special recording of a radio drama, complete with sound effects and music! Tours last approximately 90 minutes and offer a fascinating insight into the world of broadcasting.

For further information or to make a booking, visit BBC Tours or call 0370 901 1227 (Monday - Saturday, 9 - 5pm).

The tracklisting for each show can be found on their programme showpage. You can find these on DJs and Shows.

If you still can't find the answer you can contact us, but please provide as much detail as possible about the song in question. Which programme and date did you hear it on? Can you tell us something about the lyrics? If your question is too vague then we can't help! Or try doing an internet search for the lyrics of the song that you remember.

Programmes may take requests but Asian Network shows are not based around them. All the contacts for the individual programmes can be found on the show's individual web pages, which you can find at DJs and Shows.

Sorry, but the answer is no. For copyright reasons, we're not allowed to provide copies of our programmes. Even if we could, the number of requests we get would mean that's all we'd ever do! You can listen again to shows on Radio Player for a week after they are broadcast.

Daytime shows on BBC Asian Network have music selected mainly from the Playlist. The Playlist is selected each week by the Playlist Committee, made up of production teams from across the station and chaired by Neila Butt, Head of Music. The main genres on the playlist are Bollywood, Bhangra, British-Asian, Urban and South-Asian Pop and Rock. Evening and weekend shows are not playlisted and music is selected by the DJ and Producer.

The Official Asian Download Chart is compiled by the Official Charts Company from UK sales data measured across a 7 day period from a panel of more than 25 digital retailers. Only downloads released within the last 8 months are eligible.

BBC Asian Network has a range of weekly specialist South-Asian evening shows that feature regional music. Details for these can be found at DJs and Shows. Music on these shows is selected by the DJ and Producer. Selected tracks from these and other regional music genres feature regularly in our daytime Playlist.

It will depend on your service plan. The maximum cost for a SMS text message would be 12p. Calls to the BBC Asian Network are charged at local rate. Our text number is 81869 and phone number is 08459 440 445

The cost to send a MMS text will vary depending upon your price plan. You should contact your operator for details.

If you'd like to make an official complaint about BBC Asian Network please visit the BBC complaints site.

How to Listen

DAB Digital Radio

Upgrade to a DAB digital radio and not only do you get better sound quality but you'll never have to retune to get BBC Asian Network as all stations stay on the same frequency. You'll also get text information displayed on the radio about the programme you're listening to and the track that's being played.

In some parts of the UK you can hear the BBC Asian Network on the Medium Wave frequencies listed below. Check local listings online or Radio Times to find out if you can listen to the BBC Asian Network on MW in your area.

East Midlands: 837

West Midlands: 1458 and 828

Derbyshire: 1116 (7pm-1am)

Peterborough/North Cambridgeshire: 1449

Listen Live and Catch up on the Internet

With BBC Radio Player you can:

- Listen live to BBC radio programmes as they are broadcast

- Listen again to BBC radio programmes for up to seven days after broadcast

Downloads (Podcasting) lets you automatically receive the latest episode of your chosen Asian Network programme as soon as it's available. You can subscribe to receive a download and get it delivered each week. All of Asian Network's downloads are free, and you can stop receiving the files at any time. If you'd rather not subscribe, you can download episodes of a series individually. You can then listen to episodes on your computer, or transfer them to a portable device, such as an mp3 player.

To listen to BBC Asian Network on your mobile, just point your device's web browser to bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork and click 'listen'. You'll also find full schedules, previous programmes*, downloads and more.

Alternatively, if you have a recent Android or Apple mobile device you may be able to download the BBC iPlayer application (from the Android Market or Apple App Store), which also offers live radio and the chance to catch up with programmes from the last 7 days.

Please note: Streaming radio is a data intensive service. Whilst the BBC does not charge for its mobile content, your operator's charges for using the internet over 3G may apply. Connecting via WiFi is recommended where possible.

Contact

Contact a Show or Presenter

Email: You can contact individual shows and presenters via their own show pages, which you can find on our list of DJs and Shows

Phone: 08459 440 445

Text: You can text us on 81869. The exact cost of sending us a message depends on your service provider, but is approximately 12p.

MMS (Picture) messages may cost more - you should check with your service provider for exact details.

Please make sure you take care when entering our number as some subscription services have similar numbers to ours. We will never charge you for texting us.

Texting BBC Asian Network from outside the UK may cost more than the standard rate. Depending on your network provider and the country you are in, text costs will vary

We endeavour to reply to all enquiries, but please note that due to the large amount of correspondence we receive, it is not always possible for us to reply individually. Please read our Help Section before contacting us where we give answers to the most common questions we receive.

Complaints

All complaints about the BBC, our programmes and services should be sent via our Complaints Site

The BBC and any service provider we engage will use the information you supply to respond to your queries/comments, to develop and enhance our services and for statistical analysis of audiences and users. For full details of our policy regarding the personal information we collect about you visit our private policy page.